Done Deals: HFF announces $115 million in financing for Esperanté Corporate Center in West Palm Beach. FL

Esperante Corporate Center, 222 Lakeview Avenue,
Downtown West Palm Beach, FL

Ben Bernstein

MIAMI, FL –– Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announces $115 million in financing for Esperanté Corporate Center, a 255,984-square-foot, trophy office tower in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The HFF team worked on behalf of the borrower, RedSky Capital and JZ Capital Partners, to secure a fixed-rate senior loan through Apollo Global Management on behalf of a managed account, and a fixed-rate mezzanine loan through a life insurance company.

“On behalf of RedSky Capital and JZ Capital Partners, we would like to thank HFF for their hard work and flawless execution,” said Ben Bernstein, Principal of RedSky Capital. “We are grateful for the support from Apollo and our mezzanine lender and look forward to a long and rewarding partnership.”

Chris Drew

Esperanté Corporate Center is one of only three Class AA office towers in West Palm Beach and is the market’s newest and most sophisticated office building following a renovation that was completed in the first quarter of 2018.

The 20-story property offers dramatic water views and boasts a best-in class tenancy with a blue-chip roster of banking, financial and legal services firms including Bank of America, Holland & Knight, and Chatham Lodging Trust.

Located at 222 Lakeview Avenue in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, the office tower is situated across the Intracoastal Waterway from the island of Palm Beach, four miles from Palm Beach International Airport and is a short walk to a host of dining, entertainment, and retail options located along Clematis Street and within CityPlace.

Hermen Rodriguez

In addition, Esperanté Corporate Center is located less than one mile from Brightline’s West Palm Beach station connecting the three major commerce hubs of South Florida via high end rail cars.

The HFF debt placement team representing the borrower included senior managing directors Chris Drew and Hermen Rodriguez and director Maxx Carney.

“We are extremely excited for RedSky Capital and grateful to their team for giving HFF the opportunity to represent them on the financing of Esperanté Corporate Center,” Drew said. “The first-class renovation and RedSky’s institutional oversight has solidified Esperanté Corporate Center as one of the top office assets in South Florida.

Maxx Carney

"Additionally, hedge funds and private equity firms continue to flock to Palm Beach, which adds to the already numerous investment merits for the West Palm Beach submarket.”

“The West Palm Beach CBD office market is one of South Florida’s most dynamic and amenitized locales,” Rodriguez added. “Esperanté has done an extraordinary renovation to their office that will continue to attract high quality tenants.”

RedSky Capital, LLC (“RedSky”) is a Brooklyn-based firm that owns, operates, and develops real estate assets with a focus on value-add opportunities. JZ Capital Partners (“JZCP”) is a closed-end private equity fund listed on the London Stock Exchange which invests in U.S. and European micro-cap companies and U.S. real estate.

Ben Stokes

Starting in 2012, RedSky and JZCP (“RedSky/JZ”) began a value-add strategy to buy and develop real estate in burgeoning markets. Together, RedSky/JZ has established a portfolio of real estate assets in Brooklyn and South Florida in excess of $1.5 billion.

RedSky Capital was formed in 2006 and is led by Ben Bernstein and Ben Stokes.

JZCP was founded in 1986 and is advised by David W. Zalaznick and John W. “Jay” Jordan II, who over their careers have co-founded private equity investment vehicles with over $10 billion in committed capital.